willett stockard – SMB Noir

March 15, 1923 issue ~ cover art by A. Rose

March 15, 1923 issue

cover art by A. Rose

~ John Baer, “The Three Witnesses”, ‘”Compete Mystery Novelette”; set in Pittsburgh suburb’, 23th of 24 stories in BM

~ Eustace Hale Ball, “The Trail of the Scarlet Fox”, part 5 of 6 parts with various subtitles, 5th of 13 appearances in BM

~ Charles Phelps Cushing, “A Tassel of Black Yarn”, ‘Mammie Skaggs, policewoman’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Meredith Davis, “The Lower Law”, ‘innocent victim burned at the stake by a lynch mob’, 2^nd of 3 stories in BM

~ Drayton Dunster, “The Tombstone Babette”, ‘A Cemetery Tale’, 4^th of 9 stories in BM

~ Francis James, “Sinister Images”, ‘Prentice, Harvard-trained criminologist turned policeman (‘the young Central Office Man’) with Police Chief Shannon‘, last of 4 parts, 6th of 20 appearances in BM

~ C.S. Montanye (Carleton Stevens), “A Shock for the Countess”, ‘Countess d’Yls steals some pearls; set in Paris’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007), 16th of 29 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Big Surprise”, ‘Capt. Fay, German spy in USA during WWI’, 4th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 4^th of 49 total articles in BM

~ Willett Stockard, “A Dead Girl in the Moonlight”, ‘rural setting; dead girl avenged by badman’, 1^st of 5 stories in BM

~ Joe Taylor, “Playing Both Ends”, 6th of 12 tales in ‘My Underworld’ series, fiction, 6^th of 13^th appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

October 1, 1923 issue ~ cover art by John Decker

October 1, 1923 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by John Decker

~ John Ayotte, “The Black Cracksman”, ‘A white Hawaiian thrill’, 6^th of 10 stories in BM

~ Eustace Hale Ball, “Grandfather’s Will”, 8^th of 13 stories in BM

~ ‘Peter Collinson’ (Dashiell Hammett), “Arson Plus”, ‘1^st Continental Op story & billed as ‘full of fire’; see p, 127 for letter by DH’, 3^rd of 4 stories under this name, reprinted in The Arbor House Treasury of Detective & Mystery Stories from the Great Pulps (1983), reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010)

~ Donald Feak, “Black Commandments”, ‘South Seas Tale’, 2nd of 3 stories in BM

~ Newton A. Fuessle, “The Purple Mask”, ‘Kenneth Fuessle and Newton may be the same writer’, 2^nd of 2 stories under this name

~ Robert Russell, “Greggs Over-Reaches”, last of 3 stories in BM

~ Harry Simon, “The Man Who Passed Judgment”, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Sleepless Eye”, 16th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series

~ Willett Stockard, “Hutch Blood”, ‘billed as “a Black Mask weirdity”’, 4th of 5 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

December 1, 1923 issue ~ cover art by L.L. Balcom

December 1, 1923 issue

cover art by L.L. Balcom

~ Eustace Hale Ball,“When 7539 Went Black”, ‘7539 is a convict’, 10^th of 13 stories in BM

~ Henry W. Fisher, “Executioners I Have Met”, ‘3rd^t of 6 ‘true’ articles with various subtitles’

~ Francis James, “The Sand Devil”, Prentice, Harvard-trained criminologist turned policeman with Police Chief Shannon, 1^st of 4 parts, 10th of 20 appearances in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “Bodies Pile Up”, Continental Op, 4th of 25, reprinted in The Black Mask Boys (1985, Morrow), reprinted in Nightmare Town as “House Dick” (Knopf, 1999), reprinted in The Big Book of the Continental Op (Vintage, 2017), reprinted in Zigzags of Treachery: The Complete Black Mask Cases of the Continental Op, Vol. 1 (Steeger, 2023), 8th of 51 stories in BM

~ Fred McLaughlin, “The White Streak”, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Harold Freeman Miners, “Oscar the Terrible”, 1^st of 4 with ‘Topanga John, ancient desert rat’, 1^st of 5 stories in BM

~ Herman Petersen, “One Dried Head”, last of 3 parts, South Seas, 13th of 20 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Vultures’ Trail”, 20th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series

~ Willett Stockard, “Punctual”, last of 5 stories in BM

~ Emmet Welsh, “The Slippery Eel”, ‘Billed as “A Complete Fast-Moving Novelette”; NYC police; oddly, in 15 Nov 1923 issue (p. 42) author is listed as Robert E. Welch’, sole appearance in BM